Tommy Seebach
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Tommy Seebach (September 14, 1949 - March 31, 2003), born Tommy Seebach Mortensen in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a popular Danish singer, composer, organist, pianist and producer. He was married to Karen Seebach and they had three children.
Seebach started his musical career as an organist in his own group "The Colours" at age 14. In the following years he played in many pop and beat groups. He played the piano with various orchestras and groups, sometimes going under the name of "Boogie-Woogie-Tommy".
He gained mainstream popularity in Denmark in 1965, when he became a member of the band Sir Henry And His Butlers, writing many of their most popular hits. In 1976 he emerged as a successful solo artist. His hit album "Tommygun" was released in 1977. At the same time he was in high demand as a producer at his record company EMI, where he was involved in projects for artists such as Lecia & Lucienne.
In 1979 he won the Danish Melodi Grand Prix with the song Disco Tango (Danish lyrics) (English lyrics) which he coauthored with Keld Heick. It became a major hit both in Denmark and other European countries. It represented Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, finishing 6th.
He participated in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix again in 1980 with "Bye-Bye".
In 1981 he won the competition once again, singing Krøller eller ej (Danish lyrics) (literally "Curls or no curls) ", but translated as "Straight or Curly Hair") with Debbie Cameron. It finished 11th at Eurovision Song Contest 1981. This song was also coauthored with Keld Heick.
He participated in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix a number of times subsequently during the 1980s (1982, 1984, 1985 and 1987) without winning the competition. He had a big hit in 1989 with the duet Du skælder mig hele tiden ud (translated, "You're Always Yelling at Me"), sung with Annette Heick, Keld Heick's daughter. They followed up this success with two more singles and a Christmas album.
In 1993 he reached the top once again at the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, when he performed Under stjernerne på himlen (Under the stars of the sky), another song coauthored with Keld Heick. However, the song didn't perform as well at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 receiving only 9 points, finishing 22nd out of 25. The poor result meant that Denmark did not qualify for the ESC 1994.
Seebach was blamed for Denmark's poor placing, and he suffered greatly as a result[citation needed].
The 1990s were lean years for him as a performer and recording artist. He had a comeback with the release of a disco-version of Krøller eller ej released in 1999, as well as the release of a compilation album. He toured the country's discotheques at that time and found cult interest in his old hits among a new, younger public.
Seebach's problems with alcoholism took their toll on him and he died at the age of 53 from a heart attack at amusement park Bakken, where he was head of musical entertainment during the past several years.
Seebach competed eight times in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix. He and the musical group Hot Eyes were the only two acts ever to win the competition three times.
A tribute show to Seebach "The Tommy Seebach Show" tours Denmark and continues to bring his music to old and new fans.
[edit] References
- Laursen, Carsten Michael (1999). ''Top-Pop: Navne i dansk pop 1950-2000"' ("Top-Pop: Names in Danish Pop 1950-2000"). L&R Fakta. ISBN 87-614-0086-6.
